NOVEL NEXT Ch. 40 - That Warm Winter
“Sniff… sniff, I smell grass. It’s fragrant.”
Heidel smiled as Yuriana tried to guess what he was holding in his hand.
“Oh! That’s right, little human lady. It’s made of grass.”
Yuriana quickly asked.
“What is this?”
Heidel smiled brightly, just as you’d expect from a popular handsome elf.
For elves, who were the embodiment of beauty, smiling at the pitiful human race was a symbol of mercy.
A handsome man’s smile should be shared generously while he was still fresh.
Humans; praise the beautiful elves!
“This is herb that’s good for stopping bleeding and restoring energy. It’s a special herb that grows in the lands of the elves. We dry it, finely chop it, infuse it in purified water, and then let it soak into a steam-treated cloth.”
He spoke so fluently that anyone listening might mistake him for a traveling medicine man.
But what he handed her wasn’t grass; it was a clean, oddly colored cloth.
Yuriana’s eyes widened.
“Huh? It smelled like grass, but it’s a cloth?”
“Haha, it’d be troublesome to place herbs directly on a wound. This is made to be applied directly to the injury. It’s a gift from this elf uncle to our little human lady.”
Asil watched the scene silently.
If Heidel had called himself
Even an elf should have some decency!
“Whoa~!”
Yuriana eagerly took the rolled-up cloth from Heidel.
Indeed, it seemed to be a handmade bandage, with a slight greenish tint.
In the original story, Heidel was skilled in healing as well as magic, so this must be a useful item!
{{Heidel’s Easy Bandage (★★★★): A medicinal bandage made by Heidel, the leader of the Ichelle Allied Force and the first king of Elodia. It’s priceless.}}
Yuriana glanced at the collection album window that popped up before her eyes.
‘Whoa, amazing… huh? Heidel becomes the king after leading the alliance? It seems all his hard work paid off.’
She decided to keep it safe, away from prying eyes, and make a copy later.
“Ha…”
Asil sighed, unable to endure even the brief conversation between his daughter and Heidel.
“Well, I must be going now.”
“What? Already?”
Yuriana couldn’t hide her disappointment.
She hadn’t even had the chance to talk much!
It was a miracle that she met him, who must have returned to Elodia, at this exact time in the kingdom, and now they were parting so soon.
Heidel winked at her.
“Don’t be sad, little human lady. Elves are naturally busy. If you forget about it, we’ll meet again someday.”
“Just go already.”
But there was one man who was infinitely happy about this situation.
Of course, it was Asil.
“Pfft… heartless jerk. I’m off to the palace.”
“Get going. Yuriana, you should head to bed as well. If you want to play until the morning, go ahead.”
Asil eagerly tried to shoo Heidel away like an annoying fly.
“Dad~”
“Go to bed.”
“Little human friends, let’s meet again if fate allows.”
Heidel finally left the hotel.
Asil’s tone finally returned to normal, but Yuriana had something she needed to say.
“You know, Dad. Thank you for letting me visit the capital today. I really, really liked it!”
“It’s nothing.”
As they rode in the carriage, Asil had seen the sparkling look in Yuriana’s eyes.
To him, it was more beautiful than the lights on the giant tree.
When she had a snowball fight with Karas, her silver hair fluttering in the air was prettier than the snowflakes on the trees.
“I’m glad we got to see the tree together!”
“Did you like it?”
“Yes.”
Hearing his daughter’s words, Asil made a decision.
The tree, huh?
Next year, or rather… this year. There were twelve months left, right?
What if he planned to set up a tree in the empty lot of Dark Town and in the Dark House this year?
Yuriana would surely be delighted.
He would keep his promise to Levina, and he would stick to his decision as well.
“Alright, now go to bed.”
“Good night, Dad.”
“Sleep well.”
Levina was waiting by the open door.
As they were about to step into the room, the door opposite slowly opened.
Asil, who was just about to enter like his daughter, stopped in his tracks.
‘What’s this?’
It was Karas, the boy from the Empire.
You could never let your guard down!
Heidel’s presence had faded away, but now this guy popped up to block Yuriana’s path!
“Karas? Sleep well.”
“Uh… uh, yeah. Yuriana. Do you want this? It’s a birthday present.”
“What?”
The boy hesitated, then decided and suddenly thrust something into her hand.
It was something he had secretly bought earlier. A bracelet made of variously colored sapphires.
Compared to the Life of the Sea given by his uncle, it was insignificant, but he wanted to buy it the moment he saw it.
There were pink and sky blue ones like Yuriana’s eyes, and a deeper blue that resembled Karas’s eyes.
He had chosen it with care.
Yuriana blinked her big eyes and asked again.
“But you already gave me chocolate?”
“That, that’s something that ends when you eat it… I just… wanted to give you everything good in the world while I had the chance.”
What the…?
Asil, watching this scene from a distance, almost burst out laughing.
That was a big statement coming from a nine-year-old boy…!
“Hmm…”
“Please accept it, okay?”
Yuriana couldn’t refuse the gift Karas had prepared so earnestly, so she smiled brightly.
“Alright, Karas. Thank you! I’ll accept it.”
“Happy birthday.”
“M-hm!”
Yuriana felt incredibly happy at that moment.
She thought it wouldn’t be so bad if this moment could last forever.
After all, everyone was becoming happy, right?
Asil, Alice, Aidan, her, even Karas’s fate was slowly improving. She just saw Heidel, and there was no need to even mention Harun!
Yes, she believed that.
Wasn’t that so?
She was happy because her belief was becoming reality!
‘I’ll have to hint to Karas later. Even though I’m not as wealthy as Harun, I have enough capital to become rich. If living in the Empire becomes too tough, he should come to me. Hehe.’
The Nea Kingdom, a land full of happiness.
But in this world, there were also people who thought the complete opposite of Yuriana.
One such person was the lost heroine, Alice.
* * *
“Bring me a different box. One with rubies set in the lid.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Alice hummed a tune as she admired herself in the clear mirror.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
This was me, wasn’t it?
Her long, honey-colored hair and sparkling emerald eyes. Her white, smooth, and glowing skin.
There was something about Alice that went beyond the typical admiration of a beautiful woman.
Alice had always been told that she was as beautiful as a blend of freesia and lily of the valley.
In other words, she possessed both the freshness of a girl and the noble charm of a woman.
She took infinite pride in her appearance.
May it never change. Not even a single strand of hair out of place.
The palace maid opened the jewelry box and presented something to her.
“How about this one?”
“This is something an older noblewoman would wear.”
Alice’s gentle tone suddenly turned cold.
“Pardon? But it’s the latest fashion.”
The maid, unaware of her mistake, asked back.
It was good for the queen to match dress codes with the noblewomen who gathered around her.
But Alice had a different, stubborn idea.
A brooch made of pearls clustered like grapes? To her eyes, it was nothing but tacky!
She hated it, she hated it! If she didn’t want it, she should give up on it too!
“Enough. Leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Bang.
As the door closed, Alice glared at it and let out a deep sigh.
It was exhausting to keep insisting that she wouldn’t use it. Sooner or later, she would have to attach it to one of her dresses.
She couldn’t pretend to accidentally burn the unsightly brooch in the fireplace.
That would quickly become gossip, and everyone would be talking about it.
‘The suffocating royal palace.’
It was frustrating to live up to the tastes of those pathetic people.
What angered her even more were the men who didn’t go as she wanted!
Those who were supposed to be hers had all run off to find their own places.
Heidel, Asil, Harun. Yes, she was talking about them three.
Did they have any sense? How could they leave her and not come to see her even once?
‘Tch!’
She couldn’t even talk to herself freely. The palace had too many eyes and ears, so it was dangerous.
‘Even just thinking about their names feels risky. What kind of life am I living?’
Alice was someone from another world who had fallen into this game.
The fear and resentment of losing her original life quickly faded away.
Probably when she saw Aidan’s handsome face gazing at her in the library.
That must have been the moment when she decided to live as the perfect Alice from now on.
Before that, she had honestly been filled with hesitant and unsure thoughts.
– Fine. If I’ve become Alice, it’s only right that I live the life of the heroine.
She walked the path leading to a truly happy ending as if it were the obvious choice.
That way, she could meet all four of the handsome men and build the strongest bond with them.
It was a choice that came naturally, almost instinctively.
She didn’t remember every single line, but the convenient choice system saved her.
Though it was a bit shaky at times, she managed to marry Aidan and safely became queen. For that, she was grateful.
Because there had been a clear map to guide her.
The problem was after that.
Like sand slipping through her fingers, all three remaining male protagonists had left her.
To the Empire, to Elodia, to Dark Town.
What was going on?!
Alice couldn’t hide her shock.
‘As far as I remember, I should have reached the ending that raised their affection the most. I did everything right, so why is Aidan the only one left by my side? Even if the story made them leave, shouldn’t they have come back to me? They’re supposed to come back to my side and serenade me.’
She was Alice. Of course, they were supposed to return to her. If any of them went off looking for their own Alice, she wouldn’t stand for it!